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In your dream everything seems normal, its not a nightmare at all. Then something touches your arm. You brush it away but still persists. Your concentration is broken so you look for the source of your distraction. To your horror you see a giant spider. No matter how you try you cannot brush it off your clothes.

In a panic you wake up. Terrified and feeling a bit like Ron Weasley who is equally terrified of spiders, you wonder “Why spiders? Why couldn’t it be “Follow the butterflies?” (IMDB) Freud might have a lot of explanations for your dream. But a better interpretation is: you need fiction to solve your nightmarish concerns. No need to psychoanalyze when some reader’s advisory has the cure.

To see a spider in your dream indicates that you are feeling like an outsider in some situation. Or perhaps you want to keep your distance and stay away from an alluring and tempting situation. (DreamMoods)

While all dreams have positive and negative connotations, this dream interpretation will focus on the good outcomes of seeing a spider in your dreams. Spiders can represent going against the popular crowd and finding your own way. These YA novels will inspire you reject disruptive influences in your life by thinking about who your friends really are.

Conversion by Katherine Howe – Strangely similar illnesses strike the students at St. Joan’s
Academy in Danvers, Massachusetts as the disease that sicked girls in Salem Village three centuries ago. Colleen Rowly is determined not to panic as the symptoms spread among other students and several of her friends. While accusations fly and talk show hosts salivate over such a juicy story, only Colleen sees the connection between to the Arthur Miller play, The Crucible. Can Colleen find the cause of the illness before she becomes sick as well?

Shelter by Harlan Coben – After tragic events tear Mickey Bolitar away from his parents, he is forced to live with his estranged Uncle Myron. After switching high schools, Mickey finds both friends and enemies, but when his new new girlfriend, Ashley, vanishes, he follows her trail into a seedy underworld that reveals she is not what she seems to be. Other mysteries wait to be unraveled as Mickey’s dad may not be dead. Secrets from the Bat Lady and his mother’s drug addiction create a reality of suspicion and intrigue for Mickey to navigate solo.

YALSA’s upcoming YA Literature Symposium will explore the future of young adult literature. The symposium begins on November 2nd, but we wanted to get a head start here at The Hub, so we’re devoting October to 31 Days of the Next Big Thing. Each day of the month, we’ll bring you forecasts about where YA literature is headed and thoughts on how you can spot trends and predict the future yourself.

The Next Big Thing for guys is — windbreakers. You heard it here first, folks!

Everyone’s been talking about the YA Literature Renaissance — young adult books are becoming film blockbusters and spawning massive teen and adult fandoms — but there’s one group that might have been left behind: boys.

Last fall, a New York Times article claimed that the largest markets in young adult literature are female-oriented. Girls and women tend to read more than boys and men and consume more books, and understandably publishers want to capture this large market. Perhaps as a result, many of the big blockbuster series have a lot of girl appeal: love triangles, female protagonists, and a focus on relationships.

In the future, when we all hope the YA Renaissance will bloom and come into its own, a big question is: what books will be there to capture the interest of young men? Recent developments might point to an answer: thrillers.

YALSA’s upcoming YA Literature Symposium will explore the future of young adult literature. The symposium begins on November 2nd, but we wanted to get a head start here at The Hub, so we’re devoting October to 31 Days of the Next Big Thing. Each day of the month, we’ll bring you forecasts about where YA literature is headed and thoughts on how you can spot trends and predict the future yourself.

Adults reading teen literature isn’t confined to bookstores — it’s also happening in the library, based on my personal experience in the 8 years I’ve been a Teen Librarian. I’ve had hundreds of conversations with adults about teen books. Sometimes it’s parents asking about books for their teen. Sometimes it’s parents wanting to read the same book as their teen. Many times, it’s an adult interested in reading teen books.

I often talk about teen books with my coworkers, especially the women in the processing department. Often they place holds on teen books. Right now, one is reading Throne of Glass and one is reading Keeper of the Lost Cities. I persuade my husband to read teen fantasy and teen science fiction books. I pass along books to my sister and my mother. I talk about teen books with adults all the time and urge them to pick up these fabulous reads. So frankly, I’m not surprised at all by the news that adults are reading teen books; it just makes sense.